


Sheath and Shroud

by baeberiibungh



Series: Halos and Horns [4]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: AUish, Dark Imgery, M/M, Minor Character Death, dont know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 05:31:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3924682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeberiibungh/pseuds/baeberiibungh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will becomes aware of Hannibal and the monster in him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sheath and Shroud

Will shivers, his clothes damp from the rain and mud, his insides quivering half in fear and half in adrenaline. This was a difficult one to catch. The killer had taunted Will personally, going so far as to manipulate Freddie Lounds on his behalf. She was dead of course, as dead as Abigail, a victim of her own spite and ridiculous will. She had been strong, had fought like a caged animal, the scene had told Will, but in the end she had succumbed. Abigail had flown away in the night, silent, without a whisper, not even a goodbye as she coloured her sheets red. 

Will placed Lounds in the blame totem, next to himself and Hannibal. It had been her words, he assumed, oh so skilfully used that pushed Abigail. Hannibal had been furious as well and when both came upon her dead body, discarded like an old tumour off the face of humanity, they had silently rejoiced, holding each other’s elbows and grinding jaws that must have sounded loud in the silence, but they were not surrounded by silence then. The vicious pleasure Will had felt, that showed in Hannibal’s eyes, had made him feel both sick and vindicated. 

Afterwards, Hannibal invited Will to his home, to commiserate in common grief and to pledge their love to a dead girl. Will had gone willingly. He was feeling filthy but after taking a long and luxuriating shower in Hannibal’s home, he had felt better, and sadder, as the haze of righteousness had lessened by then. He cried, while Hannibal pulled him to his chest and hummed at him. Will had finally extracted himself from Hannibal’s bosom and with a shaky laugh said some things he didn’t remember now. 

Hannibal brought him a soft blanket, set the fire to a roaring beast and both sat after a delicious meal, which Hannibal said contained some of Abigail’s favourites. Two inches of whiskey for Will and a slowly sipped tumbler of brandy for Hannibal turned both into emotional saps that leaned against each other and reminiscence. Then Hannibal had said something. A slight something, “Freddie must have shouted a lot” and Will got this blinding image of Freddie cowering before Hannibal, her mouth throwing up dribbles of blood from her torn tongue and Hannibal smiling at her, with a smile that he directed at Will every day.

His heart froze over, and Will was suddenly aware at how close he was sitting to Hannibal. How close he was to be sharing his breath with the man who was most possibly the biggest monster he had ever seen. Suddenly he could see Hannibal. Actually see him. How he was who he was and held this character, this smokescreen of jagged bits of personality and fleshy narrative sewn together seamlessly, this puppet that Hannibal showed and moved around while he himself was 10 steps away. Will saw him and felt the need to simultaneously kiss him and kill him.

Will came to the realisation that Hannibal always wore two masks, those two he was born with, one his sheath and one his shroud, as he played as the god of death to his victims.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeated. All mistakes r mine. Thanks for reading.


End file.
